COFFEE COUNTRIES. 24! 



I have yet seen in the island. The weeds are ke"pt down, and 

 the soil well and deeply worked. In clearing the land, the 

 graceful palms have been spared, and add an element of beauty 

 to the scene as they raise their graceful fronds 70 ft. to 100 ft. 

 above the plantations. The country to the south of Wabadam 

 is open forest with isolated hills and ridges strewn over its 

 surface. The natives do not cultivate their flats. The soil 

 is too hard, and would require heavy labour before it could 

 be utilized. The scrub soil, on the contrary, is always moist 

 and loose. It is easily worked after the scrub has been cleared, 

 and remains light and friable." 



There is a great future before New Guinea, 

 and the earliest settlers will reap the richest 

 harvest ! 



BURMAH. 



A very large portion of the surface of British 

 Burmah, admirably adapted for various kinds of 

 cultivation, still remains in its primeval state of 

 unproductive jungle. This is due to the entire 

 absence of natural energy on the part of the 

 Burmese, who have been described as the idlest 

 race under the sun presenting in this respect a 

 singular contrast to their active and industrious 

 brethren of the Celestial Empire. The total 

 area of old British Burmah is 87,220 square 

 miles, and according to the last Administration 

 Report, only 5,498 square miles are under culti- 

 vation, of which about 88 per cent, are devoted 

 to the production of rice. Labour has been as 

 scarce as in a dozen other localities o 



